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Gee, MTV, When Did You Get Standards?

MTV's Jersey Shore has generated more buzz than any reality show in recent memory, and it's due in large part to a video clip that has spread across the Internet faster than herpes at a Real World house: it depicts, as most Web surfers know, Nicole "Snookie" Polizzi getting punched in the face by a male stranger at a bar. Over the weekend the network announced that it will not actually air the footage of the punch on this Thursday's episode.

In a statement, MTV said it made the decision after "seeing how the video footage has been taken out of context to not show the severity of this act or the resulting consequences." But MTV itself presented the footage out of context by including it in a promo montage of all the wild-and-crazy stuff that happens on Jersey Shore. Besides, the horse has already left the barn, considering that far more people have viewed the clip online than will watch Thursday's broadcast.Most hypocritical of all is that MTV has never before shown much compunction about airing objectionable material. Yes, one might argue, this is a man hitting a woman, and that crosses a line. But this isn't domestic violence or sexual assault; this is a random act of violence, more akin to getting mugged—awful, but not truly horrific. Consider some of the other things that MTV Networks has broadcast on its reality shows. Are they any less objectionable than the Snookie punch?

Exhibit A: The Real World Los Angeles, 1993

David enters his housemate Tami's bedroom and tries to pull the blankets off her while she resists and screams that she is undressed. Then, with Tami still clutching the blanket, he pulls her and it into the hallway and finally manages to yank it away from her, and she runs into the bathroom in her underwear.

Exhibit B: The Real World Seattle, 1998

Stephen runs after former housemate Irene's car as she is leaving, opens the car door, and slaps her in the face.

Exhibit C: The Real World Austin, 2005

Danny gets punched in the face by a local for no apparent reason, fracturing a bone in his eye and requiring a trip to the emergency room.

Like The Gauntlet and The Ruins, this show brings together former cast members from MTV reality shows seemingly with the express purpose of having them get drunk and get into fights, which are often set to music by MTV. While male-male fights are the most common type, there have been some pretty vicious female fights as well. When they're not fighting, cast members can sometimes be found abusing a drunk woman by squirting sunscreen all over her and throwing powder in her eyes.

Exhibit F: A Shot at Love II with Tila Tequila, 2008

I can't find any reliable reports from people who actually watched this, but MTV's summary of the show (still available online) promised, "There's sure to be crazy cat fights [and] serious sucker punches."

Having long since given up on music, MTV has for years been airing some of the most exploitative trash on television in its search for the lowest common denominator. The clip of Snookie being punched is the perfect distillation of what the network has come to stand for: drunken fights involving outrageous and oversexed fame-seekers. It seemed as if, with Jersey Shore, MTV was coming to terms with that image and embracing it. This brief attack of conscience will surely subside soon.